Yangcheon-gu Pushes Ahead With 1,004 Theme Gardens to Bloom Year-Round

Seoul's Yangcheon-gu is accelerating its push to become a "garden city," planting theme gardens throughout its residential neighborhoods.

The district announced that it is pursuing a mid-to-long-term plan to build 1,004 theme gardens across all residential areas by 2029, aiming to help residents enjoy nature in their daily lives while addressing climate change and the urban heat island effect. District Mayor Lee Gi-jae is leading the initiative.

The district formalized the effort after drawing up a five-year "Garden City Yangcheon" roadmap last year, with the goal of placing a garden within a five-minute walk of every resident. By the end of last year, it had completed 237 garden sites covering roughly 40,000 square meters, and it plans to add 250 more this year.

So far this year, the district has created 83 gardens, including a "Tulip Garden" at Sinjeong Herb Park, a shade-tolerant garden in front of Exit 1 of Yangcheon-gu Office Station, and a small specialty garden in front of the district office — giving residents a chance to experience the changing seasons close to home.

The district is also channeling effort into gardens tied to the 2026 Seoul International Garden Expo. Its strategy is to transform key public spaces — including Euteumgaro Park, a section of Gukhoe-daero and the traffic island at Sinjeong Intersection — into distinctive gardens that reinforce the Garden City brand.

A 1,150-square-meter "Between Garden" has been created at Euteumgaro Park, which sits between Sinwol 1-dong and Sinwol 5-dong. Funded by 120 million won (about $77,800) in special grants, the garden features walking paths and wooden rest platforms, along with 123 trees and shrubs — including Korean fringe trees — and 4,870 flowering plants such as double peonies, serving as a green retreat in the heart of the city.

Two traffic islands with heavy foot traffic have also been transformed into year-round flowering gardens. On the upper idle space of the Gukhoe-daero section between Mokdong Complex 5 and Mokdong Stadium, the district planted 23 species, including Korean pearl bush, lacecap hydrangea, astilbe and hosta. Around the Haenuri Fountain Plaza at Sinjeong Intersection, it added 19 species — among them Miss Kim lilac, nemophila and tiger lily — enriching the urban streetscape.

The "Sinjeong Village Yard" in Sinjeong-dong was also revamped into a healing garden for rest and exercise, with aging equipment and benches replaced and 19 plant varieties — including hydrangea, Russian sage and gaura baby — planted throughout. On the "Street Worth Walking" in front of Gangseo Elementary School in Sinwol 4-dong, the district installed hanging planters filled with Wavve petunias and zinnias to enliven the pedestrian environment.

Yangcheon-gu's garden program is expected to deliver benefits well beyond simple green space expansion, including climate change adaptation, urban heat island mitigation and improved quality of life for residents. As neglected idle lots and leftover parcels are converted into neighborhood rest spots and local landmarks, the initiative is also expected to strengthen the district's overall competitiveness.

"We are turning idle and leftover spaces near people's homes into everyday gardens so that residents can naturally enjoy flowers, trees and the changing seasons within a five-minute walk of their front door," district Mayor Lee said. "We will continue to expand green spaces throughout every neighborhood where people can feel the four seasons and take a moment to rest, and we will see through the completion of 'Garden City Yangcheon.'"